The Aztecs who first inhabited South America domesticated the plant that we now call marigold many years before any Europeans ever set foot in the area that we now call Mexico.
The Aztec people thought the marigold had magical, religious, and medicinal value. An extract made from the marigold plant was once used by these ancient people as a cure for hiccups.
The marigold's botanical name, Tagetes, was given to it by a man called Fuchs during the mid-16th century.
The marigold flower is still used abundantly today in Mexico to celebrate the Day of the Dead, when both fresh and dried flowers adorn cemeteries and graves. The flower heads are also used to make a tea to drink.
Marigolds were taken to India only 350 years ago, but they are now the most popular flowers in India.
A modern use of marigold petals worldwide is to add them to chicken feed so that egg yolks are dark yellow in color. The research that let to this practice was conducted by our American plantsman David Burpee in the 1960s. Marigolds were also popular plants sold by Burpee's Seed Company, and this helped the flower become a valued plant in American gardens.
This is Moya Andrews, and today we focused on American marigolds.
